The Cutting Edge

This article scarcely concerns us, but it does contain a key to the
Maxillaria dendrobioides (Schltr.) L. O. Williams complex (Orchidaceae)
for Costa Rica and western Panama, and another for the M. imbricata Lindl.
complex in Central America.

Weberocereus frohningiorum Ralf Bauer sp. nov. (Cactaceae) is
said to be most closely related to W. bradei (Britton & Rose) G. D. Rowley,
from which it differs in its normally three-ribbed stems, areoles with longer
spines and many hairs, and pink (rather than white) petals. Living material was
purportedly obtained in March 1994 from the Palmengarten in Frankfurt, Germany,
where it had arrived in some untold manner from an unknown locality, said to be
in Costa Rica. “Cultural requirements“ magically narrow this locality
to “somewhere in the western Costa Rican lowlands“ (and this is
approximately correct). Cynicism aside, this article is reasonably well executed,
with a key to the spp. of Weberocereus, a detailed, technical description
of the new sp., seven color photographs of live material, and SEM micrographs of
pollen and seed surfaces. If we seem resentful, it is because Francisco
(AKA Chico) Morales “discovered“ this species less than
one year ago (see under “News and Notes“), and Chico and Manual co-PI
Barry Hammel had a manuscript prepared and literally on the eve of being
submitted when this article came to our attention; no foul play suspected or
impliedjust an unfortunate coincidence.

Conservation of Scleria flagellum-nigrorum P. J. Bergius
(Cyperaceae) with a new type is recommended, maintaining the traditional
application of the name. Also recommended is conservation of the generic name
Adenocalymma (Bignoniaceae), with that spelling (as opposed to
Adenocalymna).

These analyses lead to several broad conclusions, most foreshadowed
in previous studies. Portulacaceae is described as paraphyletic, with Basellaceae,
Cactaceae, and the Madagascan Didiereaceae embedded (or, from a different perspective,
Portulacaceae is polyphyletic). Phytolaccaceae is polyphyletic, leading the authors
to suggest that Petiveriaceae (including, in Costa Rica, Petiveria, Rivina,
and Seguieria, plus the cultivated Ledenbergia) “should be given
familial recognition.“ Microtea and Stegnosperma are evidently
even more distantly related, which would leave Phytolacca as the only Costa
Rican genus of Phytolaccaceae. The small family Molluginaceae is also polyphyletic,
but the relationship between Glinus and Mollugo (the only genera
occurring in Costa Rica) is unclear.

Heliotropiaceae? Well, as far as we can determine, the recognition of
Heliotropiaceae, Cordiaceae, and Ehretiaceae is the splitters' response to the
merger of Boraginaceae and Hydrophyllaceae, as proposed by the Angiosperm
Phylogeny Group [see
The Cutting Edge 6(1): 5, Jan. 1999]. Anyway, this study suggests that
Tournefortia is polyphyletic and Heliotropium paraphyletic and that,
as a consequence, “taxonomic changes are inevitable.“ More specifically,
Tournefortia sect. Cyphocyema I. M. Johnst. (with T. volubilis
L. in Costa Rica) is sister to a clade that contains the remaining spp. of
Tournefortia nested (though not as a single unit) within Heliotropium.
The authors suggest that sect. Cyphocyema should receive generic ranking
(under the name Myriopus Small), as should Heliotropium sect.
Orthostachys R. Br. (under the name Schleidenia Endl.); at least one
Costa Rican Heliotropium, H. procumbens Mill., belongs to sect.
Orthostachys. As for the remainder of Heliotropium and
Tournefortia, the authors “advocate a conservative approach,“
noting that “the exact relationships are still unclear and a reduction of
all taxa under one genus name would be premature.“ And it will never happen,
we predict, if these authors have anything to say about it.

Cladistic analyses of rbcL sequences, alone and in combination
with morphological data, support previous such studies in suggesting that
Sambucus and Viburnum are aligned with Adoxa, in the family
Adoxaceae, rather than Caprifoliaceae. This view is corroborated in a companion
paper (Bell et. al., Harvard Pap. Bot. 6: 481499. 2001) from other DNA sequences.
Although the authors make no effort to impose Linnaean nomenclature on the remainder
of Caprifoliaceae s. l. (exclusive of Adoxaceae), three options are evidently
available: to fragment the group into several smaller families (Caprifoliaceae s.
str., Diervillaceae, and Linnaeaceae); to enlarge it to include Dipsacaceae,
Morinaceae, and Valerianaceae; or to enlarge it even further to include Adoxaceae.
We vote for the last option, which throws Sambucus and Viburnum back
into Caprifoliaceae, where they have always been; Dipsacaceae and Valerianaceae are
certainly no great loss. A potential complication is the still unresolved position
of Columelliaceae (including Desfontainia).

All of the three new spp. described here occur in Costa Rica, and
two are endemic. Dichaea elliptica Dressler & Folsom is erected for the sp.
previously known as D. brachypoda Rchb. f. (now restricted to its Costa
Rican type, of unknown exact provenance). Although widespread in Panama, D.
elliptica (treated as “Dichaea sp. A“ in our Manual draft) is
known from just one Costa Rican collection, from Las Alturas de Coto Brus. The
Costa Rican endemics are Govenia viaria Dressler and Palmorchis eidae
Dressler, the former (“Govenia sp. A“ in our draft) found at ca.
15002000 m elevation in the Cordilleras de Tilarán, Central, and de Talamanca,
the latter based on a single collection (by parataxonomist Eida Fletes)
from near Golfito at 30 m elevation. Five new combinations are validated,
including one that is correctly a nomen novum. The latter, Pleurothallis
grammata Dressler, is based on Myoxanthus vittatus Pupulin & M. A.
Blanco, described in the most recent issue of this same journal [see
The Cutting
Edge 9(1): 11, Jan. 2002]. Three of the new combinations reflect recent
molecular work showing both Hexisea and Reichenbachanthus to be
embedded within Scaphyglottis: Scaphyglottis bidentata (Lindl.) Dressler
and S. imbricata (Lindl.) Dressler are erstwhile members of Hexisea,
while S. cuniculata (Schltr.) Dressler has lately resided in
Reichenbachanthus. The transfer of names from Hexisea to
Scaphyglottis was made possible by the recent conservation of the latter
name, spearheaded by the author [see
The Cutting Edge 4(1): 4, Jan. 1997]. Finally, examination of the type of
Chondrorhyncha endresii Schltr., until recently treated as an obscure
probable synonym of Chondroscaphe bicolor (Rolfe) Dressler [see
The Cutting
Edge 9(1): 4, Jan. 2002], results in the combination Chondroscaphe endresii
(Schltr.) Dressler. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as Chondroscaphe
endresii proves to represent “the species most often identified as
C. bicolor,“ while the type of Chondrorhyncha bicolor Rolfe
“is poorly preserved and does not match any species“ known from Central
America. Govenia viaria is depicted in a fine composite line-drawing, and
Palmorchis eidae by a detailed floral illustration.

Though morphologically aberrant in its marginal, pouch-like indusia,
the small genus Loxoscaphewith L. thecifera (Kunth) T. Moore the
only neotropical sp.has often been included in the much larger Asplenium.
That view is seconded by this analysis, which finds L. thecifera
“robustly and surprisingly nested“ within a particular clade of
Asplenium spp. Based on this evidence, Loxoscaphe could be maintained
only by dividing Asplenium s. l. “into many small and probably
ill-defined genera.“ The authors conclude that “there is presently
no phylogenetic justification for accepting Loxoscaphe as a genus independent
of Asplenium.“ The combination Asplenium theciferum (Kunth)
Mett. is available for immediate deployment. Actiniopteris is an Old World
genus.

Licaria leonis Gómez-Laur. & Estrada is known from just
four collections, three from the type locality near Tinamaste in the northern
Fila Costeña, and one from the northern Valle de El General. The latter is
the earliest collection, made by William Burger in 1987. The new sp. is
dedicated to eminent Costa Rican botanist Jorge León, presently on the
INBio board of directors, who collected the type of the closely related
L. multinervis Holger Kurz in 1943. The last-mentioned sp., still known
only from the Turrialba region, is compared with L. leonis. The authors
postulate that sterile collections from the Turrialba region of an unusual
Lauraceae treated in Flora costaricensis (Burger & van der Werff, Fieldiana,
Bot. n. s., 23: 46. 1990) as “Endlicheria sp.?“ actually derive
from juvenile plants of Licaria multinervis. All of this sterile material
has been collected in the vicinity of adult plants of L. multinervis, and
a fruiting specimen cited in Flora costaricensis is said to correspond
“sin duda alguna“ to the latter sp. DNA studies are underway to settle
the issue. Both L. leonis and L. multinervis are illustrated with
composite line-drawings.

Plinia cuspidata Gómez-Laur. & Valverde hails from Fila
Carbón, in the Bribrí region of southeastern Costa Rica, where two
collections have been made. The new sp. is distinguished by its prominently
cuspidate leaves, small flowers, and oblate, strongly compressed fruits. This is
the fourth Plinia sp. recorded from Costa Rica. Illustrated by a composite
line-drawing.

This study portrays Boraginaceae s. str. as sister to a monophyletic
clade composed of Cordiaceae, Ehretiaceae, Heliotropaceae, Lennoaceae, and
Hydrophyllaceae. From the single cladogram published, there appear to be three
reasonable classificatory options: lump all six “families“ into one;
maintain Boraginaceae and Hydrophyllaceae, and lump the remaining four
“families“ into one; or recognize six separate families (which would
be the only way to maintain Lennoaceae). Put us down as favoring one of the
first two options.

Gomphocarpus, sometimes included in Asclepias, is here
circumscribed as a “putatively monophyletic group of 20 spp.“ This
is an Old World taxon, native to Africa and the Arabian region, but represented
in Costa Rica by the sparingly cultivated and naturalized Gomphocarpus
physocarpus E. Mey., a shrubby herb with inflated fruits. Includes synonymy
and descriptions at all levels, keys to all infrageneric taxa, selected specimen
citations, distribution maps, and indices to scientific names and exsiccatae.
Two spp. are illustrated with line drawings. No Costa Rican specimens are cited.

The generic name Sapota Mill. (1754), though the basis for the
family name Sapotaceae, has not been used for nearly a century, and is considered
an illegitimate renaming of Achras L. (1753). Nonetheless, Sapota
would have to be used instead of Manilkara Adans. (1763), when the latter
is defined to include Achras (as by Pennington in Fl. Neotrop. Monogr.
52: 4295. 1990), because, while Manilkara has been conserved against
Achras, the same cannot be said with respect to Sapota. This proposal
seeks to remedy that situation.

The prognosis looks grim for tribe Vaccinieae, “one of the largest
clades within Ericaceae,“ and harboring most of the spp. occurring in Costa
Rica. Vaccinium itself is not monophyletic, nor, indeed, are any of the 13
neotropical Andean genera with two or more spp. included in the analysis, with the
exception of Anthopterus, Macleania, and Themistoclesia. Instead,
“several well-supported clades“ were revealed “that generally do
not correspond to current taxonomically recognized groups.“ Vaccinium
as currently circumscribed is viewed as a grade, from which these various clades
have evolved. Formal classificatory changes are eschewed, pending future work
involving more sampling.

Tontelea scandens Aubl., seldom used and variously applied, is
based on a collection of Elachyptera floribunda (Benth.) A. C. Sm. Although
the latter name has been “widely used in a consistent manner“ (for a
sp. occurring in Costa Rica), the former name has priority, prompting this proposal.

Nineteen new spp. are described here, but just two occur in Costa Rica.
Each belongs to the genus Stelis, and is known only from a single collection.
Stelis chasei Luer, compared with S. parvula Lindl., was discovered
by Kew molecular overlord Mark Chase at 650700 m elevation near Pejibaye,
on the Atlantic slope of the northern Cordillera de Talamanca. Stelis
hammelii, similar to (and previously determined as) S. cleistogama
Schltr., was found at the Estación Biológica La Selva by Manual co-PI
Barry Hammel. Stelis chasei was included in the Manual Orchidaceae
treatment as “Stelis sp. A,“ but S. hammelii is a new addition,
upping the country total for the genus to 53 spp. Both new spp. are illustrated
with composite line-drawings.

Analyses involving 40 spp. and four DNA regions suggest that
Cyperus s. str. is paraphyletic, with 10 segregate “cyperoid“
genera nested inside. These nested genera include (to mention only those occurring
in or near Costa Rica): Ascolepis, Kyllinga, Lipocarpha, Oxycaryum, Pycreus,
and Remirea. In more precise terms, Oxycaryum is embedded among the
C3 (“eucyperoid“) Cyperus spp., while the remaining nested genera
are associated with the C4 (“chlorocyperoid“) Cyperus spp.
The authors refrain from implementing formal nomenclatural changes, but imply that
the maintenance of Cyperus s. l. (to include all the above-mentioned segregates)
would be the best option, given “the taxonomic difficulties of recognizing
many of the [segregate] entities.“

An ambitious though incomplete work that attempts to account for everything
ever published relevant (even marginally) to Costa Rican orchids. Apparently this is
only available in CD format, although it would be infinitely more useful as an Internet
resource. The present six volumes are accommodated on two CD's, with Vols. 13 on one
and Vols. 4, 13, and 14 on the other. Volume 1 contains a table of contents,
introduction, instructions for use of the guide, a key to bibliographic references
according to general themes (history, ecology, etc.), and a checklist (unvouchered) of
all the orchid spp. allegedly present in Costa Rica. Also beginning in Vol. 1 is the
main portion of the work, consisting of tabularized cross-references to literature
sources, arranged alphabetically by genus, then sp. At the head of each genus are
notes on etymology, classification (according to a scheme presented at the head of the
sp. checklist), and habitat. Each literature reference is coded for content (e.g.,
as to whether it contains drawings, photos, descriptions, etc.). Illustrations from
the literature (including both photos and line-drawings ) are appended to each genus
entry; there are many illustrations, really a very valuable feature, but these slow
down the system (including printing) considerably. This main section of the work
extends through Vol. 4, where it terminates after Epidendrum. In his prologue,
the author despairs of finishing the rest (i.e., Vols. 512) before the first half of
2003 (“aún siendo muy optimista“). Volume 13 comprises annotated
citations of the literature itself, organized under 12 broad categories, while Vol.
14 contains various apendices (compendia of names, indices to authors, titles, and
illustrations, and an index to important Internet addresses), closing remarks,
acknowledgments, etc.

This is an extraordinary piece of work, with the potential to become the single
main portal for information and illustrations on Costa Rican Orchidaceae. However,
although the guide is very well organized, it is rather cumbersome to use in CD
format. For example, having located a pertinent literature reference on (say)
Aspidogyne in Vol. 1, a user must then remove the first CD and insert the
second to find the bibliographic citation for said reference (in Vol. 13). If this
were on the Internet, one could simply click on the code number for a given reference
to bring up the bibliographic data. Many other linkages could be incorporated to
streamline the whole system. Even more importantly, an Internet version would be
vastly simpler to maintain in updated condition. In most respects (except bulk and
cost), even hard-copy would be preferable to CD's.

Kefersteinia is a genus of “more than 50“ spp.,
best represented in the Andes but with a secondary center of diversity in Costa
Rica. Ten Costa Rican spp. are treated here, two more than are presently
included in Bob Dressler's Manual draft. The additions are
Kefersteinia microcharis Schltr., liberated from synonymy under
K. lactea (Rchb. f.) Schltr., and the newly described Kefersteinia
endresii Pupulin, based on a single, old collection of unknown origin.
Features a formal generic description, a key to spp., and synonymy, descriptions,
comprehensive specimen citations, and discussions for each sp. All the spp.
are illustrated with excellent line drawings, apparently by the author himself.

The complex of Prosthechea prismatocarpa (Rchb. f.) W. E.
Higgins is characterized by pyriform, 2(3)-leaved pseudobulbs and long, erect
inflorescences of showy flowers with the labellum usually trilobed and the column
with large lateral teeth and a fimbriate median tooth. The group is centered in
Costa Rica, where five spp. occur: P. brassavolae (Rchb. f.) W. E. Higgins,
P. ionocentra (Rchb. f.) W. E. Higgins, and P. neglecta Pupulin
[see The
Cutting Edge 9(1): 11, Jan. 2002], in addition to the two spp. mentioned in the
title. The newly described Prosthechea tardiflora D. E. Mora ex Pupulin,
known from the Península de Nicoya, the Valle Central, and near Puerto Quepos,
was previously included in P. prismatocarpa, but differs in its shorter
rhizomes and inflorescences produced from the pseudobulb of the previous year.
Factoring in the three new spp. validated by Dressler, Luer's two new Stelis
spp. (see above, this column), and Pupulin's new Kefersteinia (see foregoing
entry), our running total of orchid spp. described from Costa Rica since 1993 is
now up to 189. Includes a key to spp., synonymy, comprehensive specimen
citations, an excellent composite line-drawing of the new sp., and drawings of the
labella of all five spp.

Macradenia has been variously attributed to Costa Rica, but no
actual herbarium records have been invoked. Though included in the generic key for
the Flora costaricensis account of subtribe Oncidiinae (Atwood & Mora de Retana,
Fieldiana, Bot. n. s., 40: 88. 1999), Macradenia was not otherwise treated.
The occurrence of the genus in Costa Rica is here vouchered with the citation of two
collections of Macradenia brassavolae Rchb. f., one (Molina & Shank s. n.,
23 oct. 1951, EAP) made more than 50 years ago. The sp. occurs at 1560 m elevation
on the Atlantic slope, in the Sarapiquí region and the Llanura de Santa Clara.
The authors wonder that such a striking sp. managed to escape the notice of Costa
Rican orquideophiles. Well, not everybody missed this: Manual Orchidaceae coordinator
Bob Dressler was on top of the game, and M. brassavolae is already
included in his manuscript, on the basis of the above-cited collection. Illustrated
with a composite line-drawing.

Former INBio pteriophyte curator Alexander Rojas, presently pursuing
doctoral studies in Mexico, continues his discriminating work on New World ferns with
this series of papers, long in gestation. Here we get no new taxa, but five spp.
newly reported from Costa Rica. These are: the widespread Adiantum polyphyllum
Willd., from 550700 m along the Río Chirripó, on the Atlantic slope of the
Cordillera de Talamanca; A. trichochlaenum Mickel & Beitel, reaching its southern
limit at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (near Puerto Quepos), where Jorge
Gómez-Laurito (USJ) obtained it; A. villosissimum Mett. ex Kuhn,
collected by Tom Croat (MO) near Bribrí (the northernmost station for the
sp.); the otherwise South American Doryopteris nobilis (T. Moore) C. Chr., found
by Gerardo Herrera at ca. 800 m near Ujarrás, on the eastern flanks of the
Valle de El General; and Eriosorus hirtus (Kunth) Copel., based on an Alfonso
Jiménez collection from 1600 m near Las Nubes de Coronado, the only station
between Honduras and Colombia. A key is provided to separate the Mesoamerican spp. of
Doryopteris, and leaf-shape variation within the genus is depicted.

The two new spp. do not concern us, but everything else here does.
Removed from synonymy under Cyathea multiflora Sm. (as according to, e.g.,
Flora mesoamericana) are the names Cyathea alfonsiana L. D. Gómez
and C. squarrosa (Rosenst.) Domin, the former corresponding to an Isla del
Coco endemic, the latter to another Costa Rican endemic restricted to the Atlantic
slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca (at 200900 m). Cyathea holdridgeana
Nisman & L. D. Gómez, formerly believed to have been based on a hybrid, is
resurrected as an older name for C. albomarginata R. C. Moran. Pursuant to
the author's recent acquaintance with Cyathea fulva (M. Martens & Galeotti)
Fée in the vicinity of its Mexican type locality, most if not all of the Costa
Rican material previously identified by that name is rechristened as Cyathea
onusta H. Christ. Four taxa are newly reported from Costa Rica, as follows:
Cnemidaria cocleana Stolze, otherwise Panamanian, occurs at 5501000 m in the
Cordillera de Guanacaste; Cyathea andina (H. Karst.) Domin, ostensibly South
American and closely related to C. multiflora, is reported for the first time
from Panama and Costa Rica, where it is restricted to the Golfo Dulce region;
Cyathea caracasana (Klotzsch) Domin var. meridensis (H. Karst.) R. M.
Tryon, also formerly regarded as South American, is reported from Nicaragua and
Costa Rica, where it occurs in the Monteverde region and near Moravia de Chirripó;
Cyathea macrosora (Baker) Domin, another nominally South American entity, is
now vouchered from Costa Rica by the author's collection representing var. reginae
(P. G. Windisch) A. R. Sm. (said to be an intergeneric hybrid involving Cyathea
multiflora and some sp. of Cnemidaria), from 400 m near Golfito; and Panama
loses an endemic sp. in Cyathea pseudonanna (L. D. Gómez) Lellinger, twice
collected from 750850 m in Parque Nacional Barbilla, on the Atlantic slope of the
northern Cordillera de Talamanca. Although many of the conclusions here presented
(including the two new spp.) stem from the breakup of Cyathea multiflora s. l.,
it is not clear whether C. multiflora s. str. is still attributable to Costa
Rica.

Just three of the eight new spp. pertain to Costa Rica: Ctenitis
sotoana A. Rojas, compared with C. interjecta (C. Chr.) Ching and C.
melanosticta (Kunze) Copel., is known by a single collection (the author's) from
near Parque Nacional Tapantí (and another from northern Nicaragua);
Megalastrum ctenitoides A. Rojas, similar to M. biseriale (Baker) A. R.
Sm., is based on a Gerardo Herrera collection from 1400 m on Fila Matama (and
another from southwestern Colombia); and Tectaria faberiana A. Rojas, segregated
from T. incisa Cav., is widepread from Costa Rica to Colombia. The new
combination (not announced in the title) Megalastrum karstenianum (Klotzsch) A.
Rojas, based on Polypodium karstenianum Klotzsch, is applied to a sp., heretofore
confused with M. pulverulentum (Poir.) A. R. Sm. & R. C. Moran, known by two
collections from Zona Protectora Las Tablas (plus three others from disparate sites
in Colombia). Newly reported from Costa Rica are: the widespread Ctenitis
submarginalis (Langsd. & Fisch.) Ching, from 6501150 m on the Atlantic slope of
the northern Cordillera de Talamanca; Tectaria andina (Baker) C. Chr., common
at 01500 m on the Pacific slope (south from Cerro Turrubares and Parque Nacional
Carara), where it has been confused with T. lizarzaburui (Sodiro) C. Chr.
(formerly T. vivipara Jermy & T. G. Walker); and Tectaria sodiroi (Baker)
Maxon, from 10001650 m at Monteverde and near San Marcos de Tarrazú, previously
misidentified as T. trifoliata (L.) Cav. Both Tectaria andina and
T. sodiroi are ostensibly South American spp., here reported for the first
time from Mesoamerica. All the new spp. are illustrated with mostly excellent
line-drawings.

This study mainly addresses suprageneric classification in Rubiaceae, a
subject beyond our scope. However, a few conclusions at the generic level are of
interest. Rondeletia s. l., a widely distributed neotropical entity
comprising more than 250 spp., is affirmed as polyphyletic, and the recognition of
Arachnothryx and Rogiera (among others) as separate genera is supported.
According to this view, one Costa Rican Rondeletia, R. amoena (Planch.) Hemsl.,
would belong to Rogiera, while most (if not all) of the others would be
assigned to Arachnothryx. Also, Guettarda is described as paraphyletic,
with Antirhea and Chomelia embedded (or, in other words, Guettarda
is polyphyletic).

The results of this study provide no support for the traditional alignment
of Avicennia with Verbenaceae; instead, “a relationship with Acanthaceae
s. l. is both consistently and strongly supported.“ More specifically, these
analyses consistently showed Avicennia as sister to Acanthaceae subfam.
Thunbergioideae, albeit with weak support; indeed “alternative placements of
Avicennia near the base of Acanthaceae s. l. were not significantly less likely
than the sister group relationship with Thunbergioideae.“ Thus, it seems that
Avicennia will either end up as part of Acanthaceae, or continue to reside in
its own family, depending on the results of future studies. Morphological evidence
also favors a relationship with Acanthaceae, rather than Verbenaceae. These analyses
also yielded certain other insights into the classification of Lamiales (for example,
in confirming the placement in Lamiaceae of certain genera traditionally classed in
Verbenaceae).

This was a precursor to the paper by Spooner et al. (2001), featured in
our last issue, on the taxonomy of the Mesoamerican members of Solanum sect.
Petota Dumort. ser. Conicibaccata Bitter (Solanaceae). All wild potato
populations in Costa Rica are here confirmed as belonging to Solanum longiconicum
Bitter (ser. Conicibaccata), considered distinct from the more northern S.
oxycarpum Schiede. Important differences include leaf pubescence and a purple
seed spot in the former sp., absent in S. oxycarpum. All known Costa Rican
collections of S. longiconicum (including recent ones by the authors and
colleagues) are enumerated and mapped. The sp. occurs in 18 different
“areas,“ at (1050) 14003200 m in the Cordilleras de Tilarán, Central,
and de Talamanca.

Taylor, C. M. 2002. Rubiacearum americanarum magna hama pars VI: new
species of and morphological notes on Psychotria subg. Psychotria
(Psychotrieae) from Mesoamerica and western South America. Novon 12: 120132.

Eight new spp. are described, of which only two are attributed to Costa
Rica. Psychotria jefensis Dwyer ex C. M. Taylor, most similar to P.
laselvensis C. W. Ham. and P. orosiana Standl., occurs in the Cerro Jefe
region of Panama and on Cerro Anguciana, in the southern Fila Costeña of Costa
Rica (where the type was collected). Endemic to Costa Rica at 9001400 m elevation
in the Monteverde region is Psychotria orosioides C. M. Taylor, most similar
to the sympatric P. orosiana, from which it differs in having longer calyx
lobes (1.22 mm, vs. 0.50.8 mm). Stipule and inflorescence characters employed by
previous workers on subgen. Psychotria are reevaluated. All of the new taxa
are illustrated with detailed line-drawings.

The commercial tuberose (cultivated in Costa Rica), known for a few
centuries as Polianthes tuberosa L., suffers its second name-change in three
years. The recent new combination Agave tuberosa (L.) Thiede & Eggli [see
The Cutting
Edge 6(3): 11, Jul. 1999] turns out to be illegitimate, preoccupied by A.
tuberosa Mill. (1768), the basionym of Furcraea tuberosa (Mill.) W. T.
Aiton. The epithets of two heterotypic synonyms of Polianthes tuberosa are
also preoccupied in Agave, prompting the creation of a nomen novum, Agave
polianthes Thiede & Eggli.

Analyses of sequence data from the ndhF, trnL-F, and rbcL
genes support the monophyly of Marcgraviaceae, and suggest that it is most closely
related to the families Pellicieraceae, Tetrameristaceae, and (more distantly)
Balsaminaceae. Two major lineages within Marcgraviaceae are resolved, corresponding
to the subfamilies Marcgravioideae (with the single genus Marcgravia) and
Noranteoideae. However, the genera within the latter subfamily could not be resolved
as monophyletic (in cases where more than one sp. was studied); rather, “the
molecular phylogeny is more compatible with an expanded concept of the genus
Norantea“ (i.e., to include Marcgraviastrum, Sarcopera, and
Schwartzia). But even this enlarged Norantea would appear to be
paraphyletic, with respect to the nested Ruyschia and Souroubea.

Joaquín García Castro, one of the leading Costa Rican
orquidologists, died suddenly on 22 August, 2001, barely a month after the death
of his colleague Dora Emilia Mora de Retana [see
The Cutting
Edge 8(3): 1, Jul. 2001]. Orchids were an avocation for Don Joaquín
(“Quincho“ to his friends), who was also a highly distinguished medical
doctor, long-time professor of medicine at two Costa Rican universities, and head of
the emergency department at Hospital Calderón Guardia. This paper highlights
his orchid work, while a companion paper by Eduardo Bitter (Lankesteriana 3:
3. 2002) provides more details about his professional life.

Gloxinia is apparently polyphyletic, but that can have no impact
on Costa Rican floristics, as our only sp., G. perennis (L.) Fritsch, is
effectively the generic type. The major conclusions of this paper concern the
suprageneric classification of Gesneriaceae, and are thus of no concern to us.